Requiem of Chaos

Applejack turned to Twilight and moved the front of her hat over her eyes as she began to explain, "About a week and a half ago: we were attacked by those creatures."

"The Death Hunters," Mark remarked. Applejack nodded before continuing.

"This attack was much more aggressive than usual. We thought they might get into the school and slaughter all of us. That's when Sunset and Flash were able to flank a group of Death Hunters and have them follow them. With the group preoccupied with the two, we were able to deal with the remaining and push them back. However, Sunset and Flash never came back," Applejack explained.

"Yeah, those two are dead," Zack stated as he examined a Winchester set on a table in front of a large target.

"Zack!" Viper yelled.

"What?" Zack questioned as he set the gun down and turned to Viper and continued, "I'm just stating the truth of the matter. You know as well as I do none Guardians can't survive a Death Hunter attack."

"Yeah, but you could at least try to see the positive in this situation," Viper argued. Zack simply shrugged before he went back to examining the Winchester.

"If I may change the subject," Chad said before he continued, "it seems you have a dilemma. We might be able to help you."

"Are you able to get us ammo?" Rainbow asked.

"Nah, we can get rid of your Death Hunter problem," Rex said matter-a-factly

"How?" Rarity questioned.

"We attack the Hive," Pain spoke up.

"Hive?" Pinkie asked.

"The Death Hunters are just one part of a Hive. They're scavengers that go out to find food for their queen and young," Chad explained.

"Hold on, you're saying there are more than just those things out there?" Rainbow asked.

"Yes," Chad said as he nodded and continued, "Think of these creatures as a colony of ants. Each type is unique and is necessary for the Hive to thrive."

"So how do we find the Hive?" Pinkie chimed in.

"Follow the Death Hunters," Zack stated.

"Are you Crazy?" Twilight blurted out before she continued, "Going into a Hive with Luna knows what is suicide."

"We know all too well what lives in and near the Hive," Pain said matter-a-factly.

"Pain and Panic are the only two who have even going into a Hive and returned alive," Rex explained.

"So we just need to wait for the Death Hunters to come back and follow them when they retreat," Rarity said.

"Nah, we don't need to wait. Just need a map of this city," Chad said. Fluttershy nodded and quickly left to find a map of the city. While she was gone, Zack walked up with the Winchester resting on his right shoulder.

"I've been wondering: where did you get all these weapons?" Zack asked before he continued, "I highly doubt a school like this would have guns stored in a supply closet."

"That would be my doing," Heavy Artillery admitted.

"He's a retired Army Sergeant working at the military base a few miles east of the school. Once those creatures attacked, we barricaded the doors and prayed that they wouldn't get in. At one point, we thought they would get in. However, that's when Artillery and his friends came to our rescue," Applejack explained. Heavy Artillery let out a sad sigh before Applejack continued, "He was the only one to make it inside."

"Armada, Atlas, Weaponry, Golden Arrow, Cannon Fodder. All of them gave their lives to protect these kids and me. All because of my ailment," Heavy Artillery sighed as Pinkie walked up to him and gently patted him on his right shoulder.

"Don't blame yourself. Without you, we wouldn't have any chance of fighting back," Pinkie reassured him.

"Ailment?" Viper questioned.

"Took a bullet to my right knee during one of my tours," Heavy Artillery said as he lightly patted his left knee.

"How can a small group of soldiers carry this much artillery?" Zack questioned.

"Our large truck, we drove through the city looking for survivors and we found this school that was being attacked by those creatures. After they finally retreated, I instructed them to drive back to the base and stock up on supplies and weapons," Heavy Artillery explained.

"We never saw a truck out there, did we?" Pain asked as he looked at his sword.

"I don't remember a truck outside," Chad said as the other Guardians agreed.

"Sunset and Flash took it," Applejack admitted before explain, "Like I said before. We were under attack at one point and Sunset and Flash flanked a group of them to get their attention. They then drove the truck away from the school as the group followed."

"Smart, "Zack praised just before Fluttershy came back with a map of the city. Heavy Artillery moved off the crate to allow her to unroll the map. Fluttershy unraveled the map onto the crate as Chad walked over to the map and raised his hand with the watch on it. A hologram menu appeared above the clock face. He pressed several images before a lined grid appeared above the map. Then two dots appeared: one red and one yellow before the grid disappeared.

"This is where we are," Chad said as he pointed to the yellow dot before he moved his hand towards the red dot and continued, "This is where the Hive is." Applejack and her friends gathered around the map to examine it.

"Isn't that the History Museum?" Pinkie asked as she cooked her head to the side.

"I think your right Pinkie," Rarity said.

"Now we know where the Hive is, we can come up with a plan of attack," Rex said as he looked up at Chad. Chad examined the map before finally coming up with a plan.

"We could take the Wyvern and drop down into the Hive, but going at the Museum in one group might be a bad idea. However, it looks like there are seven streets that all connect to the Museum," Chad said as he traced each street with his finger before he continued, "We each take a street and head towards the Hive. This way if some of us get noticed, we have the others to reach the Hive and kill the queen."

"Won't killing the queen aggravate the rest of the Hive?" Twilight asked.

"Normally yes, but the Hive have a fatal flaw," Pain said before he began to explain, "You kill the queen, you kill the whole Hive. Each section of the Hive is one entity. If the queen dies, the rest of the Hive dies as well. "

"Just need one shot between the bitch's eyes and done," Zack said as he pointed the Winchester towards a wall and pretended to pull the trigger. Chad nodded before he continued relaying his plan.

"We're coming too," Applejack said after Chad had finished and the Guardians were about to leave.